Point Buchon Pinnacles
San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo County · California
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Updated 6:00 AM PT todayDawn is the clearest window. A late-morning onshore builds surface chop and gives up a few feet by the afternoon.
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35.237° N · 120.907° W
San Luis Obispo County, CA
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Open in Apple MapsAbout Point Buchon Pinnacles
Point Buchon Pinnacles is an offshore pinnacle dive site about 8 miles south of the Morro Bay breakwater, inside the Point Buchon State Marine Reserve. The pinnacle rises sharply from a surrounding floor at 130 feet or more to a top at roughly 40 feet, with sheer faces, ledges, and crevices along the rock. Access is boat-only. Charter and private boats run from Morro Bay Harbor, and the round trip is two to three hours under power.
The hard rock structure of the pinnacle itself is the rocky reef biome here. The sharp vertical relief from the deep floor up to the 40-foot summit makes the site a canyon biome as well, and the open blue water around and above the structure, where larger fish and seasonal pelagic species transit, is a pelagic biome.
Scuba is the only activity. Currents are strong and the pinnacle is best dived on slack tide, while the offshore exposure puts the site out of reach on any moderate swell. The combination of depth, current, and exposure places it outside the range of novice divers.
The Point Buchon State Marine Reserve covers the coast from Coon Creek south to Diablo Canyon and extends offshore across the entire site. All take has been prohibited inside the reserve since its establishment, so hook-and-line fishing and spearfishing are illegal at Point Buchon Pinnacles.
Rocky Reef
The rocky reef biome is bare rock, boulder, and cobble structure without a kelp canopy above it. The hard relief and its crevices shelter invertebrates and reef fish, and the structure concentrates life that the surrounding sand cannot hold. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Canyon
The canyon biome is sharp vertical relief with a real depth change — walls, pinnacles, and drop-offs. The structure draws current-borne food and concentrates fish and large predators along its edges. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Pelagic
The pelagic biome is open water away from the bottom and from structure. It is the realm of fast, schooling fish and the large predators that follow them in from deeper water. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome GlossaryMarine Life
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